Football showing intensity, tempo in spring practices

The Cougars matched up in the circle drill, a test of toughness for the players. | Efren Diosdado/The CougarWhen the team stepped out on the practice field for spring training, the cloudy skies seemed to slow down their intensity.

Head coach Tom Herman noticed something was off as he huddled up the team to give them a pep talk that immediately hyped everyone up.

“I think there’s a lot of guys that realize that the bar has been set really high around here,” Herman said. “They’re pleasers, and they want to do right, but at the same time I feel like it’s making a few of them timid and afraid to make mistakes. That’s not who we are. We’ll never be a timid outfit, and we’ll never be afraid to make…